Alarm Help-related configuration fields

The following table lists the Alarm Help-related configuration fields that can be modified and the corresponding named set to modify. The final two columns are the default values for the fields and information about valid entries.

Field	Named Set	Default Names	Other Information⁽¹⁾
Functional Classification⁽²⁾	dv_alm_function	not classified Equipment Protection Environmental Protection Product Quality Process Efficiency Safety	Can use state name 1 through 10. State value 0 is always interpreted as not classified regardless of the name string.
Time to Respond⁽³⁾	dv_alm_ttr	less than 10 minutes less than 30 minutes no limit on time to respond	State value corresponds to time (in minutes) to respond. State value 255 is always interpreted as no limit on time to respond regardless of the name string.
Consequence of Inaction	dv_alm_coi	undetermined Minor Serious Severe	State value 0 is always interpreted as undetermined regardless of the state name. You can configure additional named states with state values from 1 through 255.
Consequence of Inaction Description⁽⁴⁾	dv_alm_coi_desc	undetermined Affecting product quality or production Impact on production/equipment/environment Possible damage to plant or environment	State names 0 through 255 are the descriptions of the corresponding state names in dv_alm_coi. State value 0 is always interpreted as undetermined regardless of the name string.
Alarm Help text 1 label (top box)	dv_alm_help_text	Recommended action	Only states 1 through 3 are used.
Alarm Help text 2 label (middle box)		Probable cause
Alarm Help text 3 label (bottom box)		Design information

⁽¹⁾ All named set names must be 48 characters or fewer and can contain only letters, numbers, '$' (dollar sign) , '-' (hyphen), '_' (underscore), '?' (question mark), '/' (slash), and ' ' (space).

⁽²⁾ This field is on the initial alarm setup tab (usually the item's General tab), not the Alarm Help tab and cannot be modified from the Alarm Help View and Edit application.

⁽³⁾ State value 254 (corresponding to a little over four hours) is the longest time to respond that can be set other than no limit.

⁽⁴⁾ This field appears only in the Alarm Help View and Edit application as additional explanation of the Consequence of Inaction field and cannot be modified from the Alarm Help View and Edit application.

Notes

Any changes you make to these named sets apply to every alarm already configured or that you subsequently configure. To change existing Alarm Help you must re-download it.
It is recommended that you plan your alarm functional classification and Alarm Help (number of text fields and semantics) for your entire system before configuring individual alarms.
The Alarm Help named sets need to be identical across zones to ensure that the Alarm Help labels remain consistent across zones.

The following sections provide information on how to modify the named sets and the consequences of changes.

Functional Classification (dv_alm_function)

You can edit this named set to match the alarm functional classification policy in your plant:

Valid state values are in the range of 0 through 10. The states you configure are presented as Functional Classification choices during alarm configuration.
Altering a state name is allowed. Alarms that have already been configured subsequently show the new state name after the named set change is distributed (by a setup data download, for example). Blue triangles do not appear on affected modules, nodes, or devices.
Deleting a state value is allowed. Alarms that have already been configured with the deleted Functional Classification subsequently show an empty string for Functional Classification. Blue triangles do not appear on affected modules, nodes, or devices.

Time to Respond (dv_alm_ttr)

You can edit this named set to match the alarm time to respond policy in your plant:

The state values represent the time in minutes to respond to an alarm.
State names are the descriptions that appear in the drop-down list during configuration (and in the Alarm Help View and Edit application).
The state names for the seven states with the largest values are presented as Time to Respond choices during alarm configuration.
Altering a state name is allowed. Be sure to choose state names that reflect the state value. Alarms that have already been configured subsequently show the new state name once the named set change is distributed (by a setup data download, for example). Blue triangles do not appear on affected modules, nodes, or devices.
Deleting a state value is allowed. Alarms that have already been configured continue to show the originally configured value. Blue triangles do not appear on affected on modules, nodes, or devices.

Consequences of Inaction (dv_alm_coi)

Edit this named set to match the alarm consequences of inaction policy in your plant:

Valid state values in the range of 0 through 10 are presented as Consequence of Inaction choices during alarm configuration.
Altering a state name is allowed. Alarms already configured with that Consequence of Inaction state value subsequently show the new state name once the named set change is distributed (by a setup data download, for example). Blue triangles are not triggered on affected modules, nodes, or devices.
Deleting a state value is allowed. Alarms that have already been configured with the deleted Consequence of Inaction state value will subsequently show an empty string for consequence of inaction. Blue triangles are not triggered on affected modules, nodes, or devices.

Consequences of Inaction Description (dv_alm_coi_desc)

Edit this named set so its state names are descriptions of the corresponding state values of dv_alm_coi:

State values in the range of 0 through 10 are shown as the description for the selected dv_alm_coi selection.
Altering a state name is allowed. Alarms that have already been configured will subsequently show the new description (once the named set change is distributed (by a setup data download, for example). Blue triangles are not triggered on affected modules, nodes, or devices.
Deleting a state value is allowed. Alarms that have already been configured with the deleted Consequence of Inaction state value will subsequently show an empty string for the description. Blue triangles are not triggered on affected modules, nodes, or devices.

Labels for Alarm Help text fields (dv_alm_help_text)

You can edit this named set to define the labels for the three Alarm Help text fields shown in the Alarm Help View and Edit application:

State name 1 is the label for the first (top-most) Alarm Help text field.
State name 2 is the label for the second (middle) Alarm Help text field.
State name 3 is the label for the third (bottom-most) Alarm Help text field.
State values configured outside the value range 1 through 3 are ignored.
Altering a state name is allowed. the Alarm Help View and Edit application starts using the new label once the named set change is distributed (by a setup data download, for example)
Deleting a state value is allowed. Deleting a state value removes the corresponding Alarm Help text field from the Alarm Help View and Edit application. Deleting a state value does not discard any Alarm Help text already configured, nor does it affect configuration import, export, or bulk editing of Alarm Help.